Top 10 scandals in 2009 (2)
6. Balloon Boy
Not since the moon landing has a nation been so transfixed and fearful over the journey of a silvery object in the sky. According to a 911 call from a distressed father, there was a 6-year-old boy somewhere inside that flimsy Mylar balloon. Except there wasn’t. After the balloon was brought to earth, the boy was discovered hiding in a box in the attic. Except he wasn’t. The whole thing was a publicity stunt to make the family, the Heenes, known already to avid reality-TV viewers as two-time participants on Wife Swap, seem more attractive to the producers of other reality shows. Falcon, the boy who innocently gave the game away when Larry King asked him why he hid (“You guys said we did this for the show,” he told his dad), then proceeded to accompany his family on a full round of media interviews. In a way, the Heenes got their wish of making a splash on TV: Falcon threw up on the Today show.
7. Tiger or Lyin’ Cheetah?
Flawed was not normally a word associated with Tiger Woods. And tabloids were not his usual stomping ground. But all that changed when a small car crash became a train wreck of infidelity allegations from several women, backed up by a damning voice-mail message and finally an “I have let my family down” statement. It was the worst possible scenario for the golf megachamp, whose handlers had carefully crafted an image of him as classy, disciplined and beyond making mistakes. But also because his natural rectitude prevented the full-frontal apology that usually brings these stories to the end of their cycle. Most of his sponsors quickly announced they were sticking by their billionaire endorser. His wife — she’s not saying.
8. Missing Minneapolis
It’s never a good sign when pilots of a plane carrying 144 souls do not respond to the inquiries of air-traffic controllers or airline officials for more than an hour and 15 minutes. Just as fighter aircraft were being prepared to be scrambled out of fear of foul play, Northwest Flight 188, flying from San Diego to Minneapolis–St. Paul, re-established contact. Its pilots, Timothy Cheney and Richard Cole, had been so absorbed in what they were doing on their laptops — apparently they were looking into the new monthly flight-crew-scheduling procedures — that they simply lost track of time. When a concerned flight attendant finally buzzed them over the intercom to ask how things were going, they were already somewhere over Wisconsin. They’re now in a holding pattern; the FAA has revoked their pilot certificates.
9. ACORN Falls
Posing as a pimp and a prostitute, James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles secretly filmed employees of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) in different offices around the U.S. who were apparently willing to assist in prostitution, tax evasion and, in at least one case, human smuggling. The organization fired several of the offending employees, but the toothpaste was out of the tube and all over YouTube. The Senate and the House of Representatives voted against further funding for ACORN, and the IRS and U.S. Census Bureau terminated contracts with the group. The scandal led to a further miniscandal in which accusations were leveled at the media for ignoring the story.
10. Love Hurts
Chris Brown and Rihanna were the golden couple of R&B: young, beautiful, talented and in love. They holidayed in her home country of Barbados! They had matching tattoos! He gave her a ruby-and-diamond pendant! “He makes me feel like a teenager,” she told Allure. And then, allegedly, he behaved more like a wayward toddler, assaulting Rihanna the evening before they were both set to appear at the Grammys. Police were called, and, inexorably, photos of Rihanna’s bruised face made their way onto the Internet. Initially dismayed by all the media attention, the songstress used her experience — and a sit-down TV interview — to warn other women about abusive relationships and domestic violence. Brown, who turned himself in to police and publicly expressed regret over the incident, was sentenced to five years’ probation and 180 days of community service. His own sit-down TV interview (on the same channel as his ex’s) was apparently voluntary.
Tiger‘s Alleged Mistress Rachel Uchitel
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